Campground Directory - Sewn Art Journal

Last week I swore to myself that I'd post more often but finding the time to blog isn't my first priority. I'm starting to prepare for a 3 week road trip with my husband, and am starting to panic just a bit because I've done very little except research. Usually by now I'd have a packing list ready and at least one pile of clothes. Nada! I'll get to it next week when the deadline is looming larger.

One thing I have worked on for the past few days is a sewn journal that will be a gift for a special friend. It will have 24 pages with lots of room left for writing and photographs. Here are a few of the pages. They don't look very exciting yet but I still have many embellishments to add before I bind them. For instance, on this page (below) I didn't leave room for writing so I'll figure out a way to add a journaling spot, other than the orange in the upper right hand corner. The page above has two spaces for writing or adding a photo.

The pages of my book are made of all sorts of papers: scrapbooking paper, ledger paper, security envelopes turned inside out, menus, painted washi, magazines, children's books, art showing announcement cards, color copies of my journal pages, wallpaper, book pages, masking tape, and many others. The featured photo above is a print on matte photo paper of a plant we once saw in Arizona.

This page also has room to write. The red band is sewn only at the edges so an narrow envelope or  paper or a photo can be slipped under the band.

I've been tearing old magazines apart, as here with a bit of an art doll from one magazine hiding behind a brick wall from an interiors magazine and the word which I hope will prompt some writing about surface. The brick wall is actually a flap which is lined with card stock for stability. The writer can add a comment on the back side of the wall.